Ten-man Man City beat Forest despite Rodri red card

7 months ago 171

By Chris BevanBBC Sport at Etihad Stadium

Last updated on 15 minutes ago.From the section Premier League

Phil Foden fires Manchester City ahead against Nottingham ForestFoden scored 11 league goals last season - his opener against Forest was his first of this campaign

Leaders Manchester City were forced to hang on to beat Nottingham Forest after Rodri's red card but still maintained their perfect start to the Premier League season.

City were cruising at the break thanks to early goals by Phil Foden and Erling Haaland but the game changed dramatically only 27 seconds after the restart.

Rodri was shown a straight red for violent conduct after putting his hands around Morgan Gibbs-White's throat as they tangled near the corner flag, with VAR upholding referee Anthony Taylor's decision.

Forest had been outplayed until that point, with City slicing them open with sparkling attacks down the right to score both their goals inside the first 15 minutes.

Kyle Walker set up Foden to fire home City's opener with a fine first-time finish, before Matheus Nunes crossed from the same flank for an unmarked Haaland to head home.

The second half was a different story, however, with City having to dig in to protect their lead - and they mostly succeeded in keeping Forest at arms' length.

Clear chances for the visitors remained few and far between, with Orel Mangala scooping one shot over and Taiwo Awoniyi off target from close range, before Ederson denied Anthony Elanga late on.

Tempers continued to boil over in the closing minutes, with City manager Pep Guardiola and the home fans unhappy with more of Taylor's decisions, but City still held out.

With the rest of the top four playing on Sunday the defending champions are now five points clear at the top of the table.

More follows.

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Manchester City

Squad number31Player nameEderson

Squad number2Player nameWalker

Squad number25Player nameAkanji

Squad number3Player nameRúben Dias

Squad number24Player nameGvardiol

Squad number27Player nameMatheus Nunes

Squad number16Player nameRodri

Squad number47Player nameFoden

Squad number19Player nameÁlvarez

Squad number11Player nameDoku

Squad number9Player nameHaaland

Squad number4Player namePhillips

Squad number6Player nameAké

Squad number10Player nameGrealish

Nottingham Forest

Squad number1Player nameTurner

Squad number43Player nameAina

Squad number24Player nameAurier

Squad number30Player nameBoly

Squad number19Player nameNiakhaté

Squad number3Player nameNuno Tavares

Squad number10Player nameGibbs-White

Squad number6Player nameSangaré

Squad number5Player nameMangala

Squad number16Player nameDomínguez

Squad number9Player nameAwoniyi

Squad number11Player nameWood

Squad number14Player nameHudson-Odoi

Squad number21Player nameElanga

Squad number27Player nameOrigi

Squad number29Player nameMontiel

Line-ups

Man City

Formation 4-2-3-1

31EdersonBooked at 58mins2Walker25AkanjiBooked at 18mins3Rúben Dias24Gvardiol27Nunes16RodriBooked at 46mins47FodenSubstituted forGrealishat 87'minutesBooked at 90mins19ÁlvarezSubstituted forAkéat 57'minutes11DokuSubstituted forPhillipsat 51'minutes9Haaland

Substitutes

4Phillips6Aké10Grealish18Ortega21Gómez33Carson52Bobb82Lewis

Nottm Forest

Formation 5-4-1

1Turner43AinaSubstituted forOrigiat 75'minutesBooked at 81mins24AurierSubstituted forHudson-Odoiat 56'minutes30Boly19Niakhaté3TavaresBooked at 21minsSubstituted forMontielat 39'minutesBooked at 90mins10Gibbs-WhiteBooked at 46mins6SangaréBooked at 45minsSubstituted forElangaat 56'minutes5MangalaBooked at 77mins16Domínguez9AwoniyiBooked at 58minsSubstituted forWoodat 75'minutes

Substitutes

4Worrall8Kouyaté11Wood14Hudson-Odoi21Elanga22Yates23Vlachodimos27Origi29Montiel

Live Text

Match ends, Manchester City 2, Nottingham Forest 0.

Second Half ends, Manchester City 2, Nottingham Forest 0.

Josko Gvardiol (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Chris Wood (Nottingham Forest).

Attempt saved. Willy-Arnaud Boly (Nottingham Forest) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.

Corner, Nottingham Forest. Conceded by Ederson.

Attempt saved. Anthony Elanga (Nottingham Forest) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Chris Wood with a headed pass.

Gonzalo Montiel (Nottingham Forest) is shown the yellow card.

Jack Grealish (Manchester City) is shown the yellow card.

Jack Grealish (Manchester City) wins a free kick on the left wing.

Foul by Gonzalo Montiel (Nottingham Forest).

Erling Haaland (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Foul by Moussa Niakhaté (Nottingham Forest).

Foul by Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City).

Divock Origi (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick on the right wing.

Delay over. They are ready to continue.

Delay in match because of an injury Orel Mangala (Nottingham Forest).

Substitution, Manchester City. Jack Grealish replaces Phil Foden.

Erling Haaland (Manchester City) wins a free kick on the left wing.

Foul by Willy-Arnaud Boly (Nottingham Forest).

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